PhD Thesis
The study was done in Uluguru Mountains to determine the linkage between
agrobiodiversity
and
household
food
security
among
smallholder
farmers.
Specifically the study sought to: identify the major farming systems including the
management and organizational aspects of agrobiodiversity and the associated
indigenous practices; determine household food security status and coping strategies
among smallholder farmers in the study area; analyse' factors influencing household
food security in the study area; determine crop diversity; and analyse socio-economic
factors influencing agrobiodiversity and household food security. Using PRA,
questionnaire surveys and diversity inventory from four villages and 120 randomly
selected households, the study found that food security in the study area depends
largely on the diversity of crops maintained by the households. The study showed
further that food security as a concept is locally perceived and therefore what
constitutes food security may be something that goes beyond conventional thinking.
The study concludes that communities have inherent abilities to deal effectively with
vulnerabilities based on their past experiences and anticipated outcomes. Such
experiences and outcomes bring, among other things, agrobiodiversity for household
food security. While food security perceptions and food preferences may be quite
localized, they point to the fact that interventions to solve problems of food
insecurity may only succeed when local perceptions and preferences are considered.
The study draws a number of policy and research implications including the:
development of policies and strategies away from mono cropping to diversity as a
I
means for sustainable food and the overall livelihood security of the smallholder
farmers in the study area and areas with similar conditions; development of policiesiii
for awareness raising in terms of the value of agrobiodiversity for sustainable
agricultural production and the need to protect potentially useful crops and the value
of agrobiodiversity as a cultural heritage. The study ends by proposing areas for
further research including the establishment of the level of genetic diversity needed
for ecologically sound and economically sustainable agriculture; documentation of
seed exchange systems and minor and less known crops and their contribution to
household food security. Other recommendations include genetic mapping and the
role of market integration on agrobiodiversity.